Driving the news: This week, Toyota started production at its new $13.9 billion battery plant in North Carolina and confirmed plans to invest an additional $10 billion in the U.S. over the next five years.
For context: The facility is Toyota's first in-house battery plant outside Japan, originally announced in December 2021 during the Biden administration's push to onshore EV and hybrid battery production. However, Toyota has yet to release details about where the additional $10 billion will go.
What they're saying: Toyota Motor North America CEO Tetsuo Ogawa called the battery plant opening and increased investment a "pivotal moment" in the company's history, according to an announcement from the automaker.
Tetsuo Ogawa
Big picture: Toyota controls over half the U.S. hybrid market just as demand is surging, and this battery plant gives them domestic production capacity at exactly the right moment.
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